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Hitler's U-Boat Fortresses
(Click to Enlarge)
Randolph Bradham
Book Code: C8133
ISBN: 0-275-98133-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-98133-4
224 pages, figure, maps, photos, tables
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 11/30/2003
List Price: $46.95 (UK Sterling Price: £26.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • Bradham's Hitler's U-Boat Fortresses suggests new areas of research. The story of the defeat of the U-boat menace in World War II is about more than cracking codes, introducing carrier-based aircraft, and developing improved anti-submarine warfare technologies, but also includes the war against U-boat ports with the attendant "collateral" damage to civilians.
    —H-German     July 2005
  • Endorsement From James P. Duffy
    author of Hitler's Secret Pirate Fleet:     A compelling account of the people and events at Lorient and St. Nazaire that recounts the German invasion, nearly five years of occupation and Allied bombardment, and finally liberation after the German surrender. Of importance to all readers of World War II and military history, this book is a must read especially for those interested in the U-boat war.
  • Endorsement From Senator Ernest F. Hollings
    D-South Carolina:     Randy Bradham did a great service by writing this book. Many of our colleagues from World War II are not around anymore, and for this veteran to step back and relate what happened 60 years ago is a most unexpected gift to our nation. I know veterans will want to read this; but I hope all Americans, especially the children, will read it so they understand the sacrifices their grandparents made so that future generations can enjoy the freedoms on which our country was founded.
  • Endorsement From Ed Koch
    former mayor of New York City:     A solid, informative and interesting recounting of the defeat of the Nazi armies. While detailing the efforts of the Allies to seize the headquarters of Hitler's submarine fleet, Bradham also provides fascinating individual anecdotes of the courage exhibited by American soldiers.
Description: The French naval bases at St. Nazaire and Lorient, occupied by the Germans in June 1940, quickly became the homes of massive U-boat fortresses--nearly indestructible submarine pens, built by mostly slave labor. From these bases, the U-boats struck merchant shipping at will from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. Thousands of vessels were lost, along with vital war materiel destined for Britain and the Soviet Union. As a result, the Royal Air Force began an all-out bombardment of the two ports. Despite their extensive efforts--and those of the Americans who joined them in 1942, the fortresses would survive, surrounded by the decimated French towns and countryside. This is the story of what was, perhaps, the longest ongoing battle in Europe during the Second World War, seen through the eyes of someone who experienced much of it firsthand. The desperate battle was waged on land, air, and sea. Because the dock at St. Nazaire could house and repair Hitler's powerful warship Tirpitz, British commandos carried out a daring raid to destroy it in March of 1942. They succeeded, but with great loss of life. The defenses of these fortresses were so strong that Eisenhower would ultimately decide to seek containment rather than destruction. The 66th Division, on its way to take up the task, lost its troopship Leopoldville to a German torpedo, with a loss of 802 men. The French underground movement in the area spawned a fighting force of 40,000 men to fight alongside the Americans, but the subsequent German reprisals would ultimately destroy many families in Brittany. Yet the bases stood, and continue to stand today.
Table of Contents:
  • 1940
  • The Beginning
  • The Vichy Government
  • Bombardment
  • U-Boat Menace
  • The Resistance
  • Personal Experiences
  • 1941
  • Expansion of U-Boat Bases
  • The Resistance
  • 1942
  • U-Boat Destruction
  • British Commando Raid on St. Nazaire
  • Bombardment--Enter the United States of America
  • 1943
  • Apocalypse
  • Turning Point in the Atlantic
  • Bombardment Intensifies
  • French Forces of the Interior: Origin of Personal Stories
  • 1944
  • Germans on the Defense
  • French Forces of the Interior Battle Germans
  • Battle of Saint Marcel
  • 1944: July, August, September
  • Breakout and Engagement
  • Allies and French Forces of the Interior on the Offensive
  • The Tragedy of Hennebont
  • The 83rd Division Captures 20,000 Germans
  • 1944: October, November, December
  • Ground War: 94th Infantry Division Takes Over
  • French Battle Germans South of the Loire River
  • The Sinking of the Leopoldville
  • 1945
  • Enter the 66th Infantry Division
  • Personal Combat Experiences
  • Official Record of the 66th Infantry Division
  • French Forces Reorganize and Strongly Hold the Line
  • Surrender
  • Monuments
LC Card Number: 2003051755
LCC Class: D781
Dewey Class: 940
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